Nan'ao Township 南澳鄕
Mountain indigenous township
A school in Jinyue Village, Nan'ao Township
Seal
Nan'ao Township in Yilan County
Location	Yilan County, Taiwan
Area
• Total	740.65 km2 (285.97 sq mi)
Population  (September 2023)
• Total	6,110
• Density	8.2/km2 (21/sq mi)
Website	www.nanao.e-land.gov.tw (in Chinese)

The coastline in Nan'ao Township

Nan'ao Township (Chinese: 南澳鄕; pinyin: Nán'ào Xiāng) is a mountain indigenous township in the southern part of Yilan County, Taiwan. It is the largest township in the county.

History

The township was formerly the "Aboriginal Area" of Suō District, Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese rule. It was the site of the Sayun incident made famous through the movie Sayon's Bell.

Geography

Map of Nan'ao (labeled Nanō) (1944)

The population consists mainly of the indigenous Atayal people. Many residents of Aohua Village still speak the Japanese language in daily life.^[1]

Nan'ao Township contains part of the mountainous terrain of the Central Mountain Range.

• Area: 740.65 km²
• Population: 6,110 people in 2,092 households (September 2023)

Administrative divisions

Nanao is divided into seven villages (from north to south):

• Dongyue
• Nan'ao
• Biho
• Jinyue
• Wuta
• Jinyang
• Aohua

Tourist attractions

• Cueifong Lake

Transportation

Dong'ao Rail Station

Nan'ao is served by the North-Link Line of Taiwan Railway Administration at three stations: Dong'ao Station, Hanben Station, and Wuta Station.

Taiwan Highway 9 passes through Nan'ao. Between Su'ao and Hualien City, to the south, this road is known as the Suhua Highway (蘇花公路), and it features some of the most dramatic oceanside scenery in Taiwan.

Notable natives

• Laha Mebow, writer, producer and director

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nan'ao Township, Yilan County.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Nanao.

• Official website (in Chinese)

24°28′N 121°48′E / 24.467°N 121.800°E / 24.467; 121.800